A Rolling Royal Feast in Portugal: The Presidential Train

Ann Abel
, ContributorI know the difference between expensive travel and the truly luxuriousOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Gonçalo Castel-Branco never really thought of himself as a train guy. Nor did he have much interest in Portuguese history growing up. All that changed when he came across the remnants of a historic train in the National Railway Museum.

It wasn’t just a beautifully crafted, if crumbling, shell of metal and wood. It was a piece of history. Built in 1890 as the Royal Train for King Dom Luis I, it hosted heads of state like Queen Elizabeth II and Pope Paul VI. After Portugal became a republic in the early 20th century, it was renamed the Presidential Train and hosted global dignitaries until its last ride, for the funeral of dictator António de Oliveira Salazar in 1970.

Castel-Branco didn’t want to see it sitting in a museum. He wanted to bring it to life. When his daughter suggested he create a moving restaurant, he listened, despite having a career in politics rather than hospitality.

But he’s also a theater producer—he brought The Producers and Avenue Q to Portugal—and as people in theater do, he dreams big. He invested €1 million in a two-year restoration to make the Presidential Train—parts of which were in such shambles that they had to be transported in fishnets—rail-worthy. He secured permission for it to follow the Douro Line, through one of Portugal’s most magnificent wine regions.

Lunch was five courses of joy: Azores tuna with caviar, medallions of lobster, mixed seafood under briny foam, rich pork belly and a mélange of bananas and lavender for dessert. It’s an especially impressive accomplishment when you consider that Lemos and his kitchen brigade were working in a compact, turn-of-the-century, rocking-train kitchen.

It’s no accident that the chefs are all Portuguese luminaries: showing the best of the country is important to Castel-Branco. That means a subtle Iberian scent of red berries and grapes (as in port wine) from Castelbel, impossibly elegant cutlery from Cutipol, all kinds of gorgeous china from Vista Alegre and fresh bread from Lisbon’s hipster bakery Gleba. All the wines are from Niepoort. My tablemates, a pair of savvy food lovers from Lisbon, raved about how it’s the best of Portugal: food, scenery, history.

The Presidential Train

A typical, beautifully presented dish

They also remarked on the northern accents of the young staff—the best and brightest from a tourism school in Porto—and how they added a connection to the place and time. Castel-Branco is proud of that: “This is my love letter to Portugal. It’s also a flirtation between old and new. I love that it’s an 1890 train staffed by young people. It’s alive. It’s not a museum. If you’re on it, now you’re part of history.”

Castel-Branco knew I’m a journalist (and comped my trip) but he told me most of that before he figured out my identity. And he told the 63 other passengers the same thing. He works the rooms and meets all the guests on every nine-hour journey, and he has a great deal to do with the experience, even though it makes no profit. (It’s not that big a deal, as the train runs only 25 times a year, in May, September and October, at his engineers’ request. “This is the Mona Lisa. It can’t be maneuvered every day,” he says.)

He revels in his role as host at the train’s big stop, Quinta do Vesuvio, about 120 miles from Porto. The quinta, or winery home, is the only one of the dozens owned by the important Symington port-wine family that is not normally open to the public. Dating from 1565, it’s as rustic as it is grand. After Castel-Branco explains the basics, guests are free to wander, drink tea, taste private-label vintage port or smoke cigars on the terrace.

The Presidential Train

Evening music in the bar car

Two hours later, guests climb back onto the time-warp train and head back to the city as the sun sinks and the sky comes alive. Some people retreat to their cabins and nap, while others find themselves in the bar car, where staff mix expert gin and tonics and a pianist provides the entertainment, or the dining cars, where a custom blend of tea is served.

Soon that leads to plates of aged São Jorge’s cheese and castanhas de ovo, the typical smoked meats of Portugal. Food keeps coming until the train pulls back into Porto, concluding with the traditional caldo verde soup. A Portuguese guitar player takes over entertainment duties—a careful choice from Castel-Branco, who felt that the expected fado is too removed from northern Portugal.

The one-day package for the train is enough for many people, but there are options for longer trips. One of them combines the outbound journey with a stay at the Six Senses Douro Valley, the leader in wellness travel in this part of the world. After a night to sleep in a sublimely comfortable hotel room and lunch at one of the best gourmet restaurants in the region, guests re-board the train for the evening portion of the ride.

Six Senses Douro Valley

The outdoor dining room of Terroir at the Six Senses Douro Valley

During my stay I managed to find room to sample the menu from the new restaurant Terroir, a pop-up turned permanent fixture in which Ljubomir Stanisic indulges his vegetarian-curious side—something pretty unheard-of in Portugal. The broad menu encompasses flavors from around the world, with a tempura of algae and mushrooms that I’m still dreaming about, Madras cauliflower curry and deeply satisfying barley risotto with mushrooms and truffles.

Nothing about it feels like deprivation. It’s an ideal addition to the unabashed pleasures of the train.